And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.

2 KINGS 5:7KJV
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2 Kings 5:7 (KJV)

What does 2 Kings 5:7 mean?

2 Kings 5:7 describes the king of Israel’s fearful reaction when he reads a letter asking him to heal a man of leprosy. The king tears his clothes in distress, saying he is not God and cannot heal or give life, and suspects the request is a trick meant to start trouble with him.

The king of Israel is responding to a letter from the king of Aram (Syria), who has sent Naaman, a commander with leprosy, to be healed. The king’s act of tearing his clothes shows deep anxiety and helplessness, because healing leprosy was seen as something only God could do. The king fears that the impossible request is a setup, possibly to create an excuse for conflict between the two nations.

The Hebrew behind 2 Kings 5:7

  • God (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim): The king uses this word to stress that only God has the power “to kill and to make alive.” He is admitting his human limits and highlighting that such miracles are beyond any king’s authority.
  • Rent (קָרַע, qara‘): Tearing one’s clothes was a common way in ancient Israel to show extreme grief, fear, or distress. The king’s action signals to everyone around him just how serious and troubling he finds this request.
  • Quarrel (אָנָה, ’anah): The word here means a legal dispute or a pretext for conflict. The king suspects that the foreign ruler is looking for an excuse to accuse Israel or justify aggression if the healing does not happen.

Why 2 Kings 5:7 matters

  • This verse shows the king of Israel’s lack of faith or awareness that God could work through his prophets, setting the stage for Elisha’s later role in the story.
  • The king’s reaction highlights the seriousness of leprosy in the ancient world—it was seen as incurable by human means, reserved for divine intervention.
  • The verse helps explain the political tension between Israel and Aram, showing how even a request for healing could be viewed with suspicion and fear of war.

Where else these words appear

“quarrel” Hebrew H579 · used in 4 verses

  • Exodus 21:13 And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.
  • Psalms 91:10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
  • Proverbs 12:21 There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief.

“wherefore” Hebrew H389 · used in 22 verses

  • Genesis 7:23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
  • Exodus 12:15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
  • Joshua 22:19 Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the LORD, wherein the LORD'S tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us: but rebel not against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar beside the altar of the LORD our God.

“leprosy” Hebrew H6883 · used in 33 verses

  • Leviticus 13:2 When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests:
  • Leviticus 13:27 And the priest shall look upon him the seventh day: and if it be spread much abroad in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy.
  • Leviticus 14:32 This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing.

“man” Hebrew H2088 · used in 37 verses

  • Genesis 5:1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
  • Exodus 13:3 And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.
  • 1 Samuel 25:21 Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good.